23 kaw upper bushing out /oil leak

2001 hustler 60. kawasaki 23 hp. fh-680v-bs01.
motor failure started with a major oil leak , upper seal was pushed out and small metal frags were present (odd?) I replaced the seal and the motor ran 'ok', but the flywheel bolt "moved around "when running .so i pulled the crank out and the upper bushing was bad , i know that the dealer can't sell the bushing by itself ,without the upper block half. this motor has less than 600 hrs on it .and is in very good shape . my question is , does any one make a bushing to replace this one ? the bushing is a metal band type ,like a cam bearing , is the metal surface of the cam bearing the same as the bushing of the upper crank?

I have had the same trouble and have in my desk at work a list of 2 companies that will make that bearing for you . I warn you the price is not for the weak of heart . They start for 1 bushing at around $65 and drop fast as you increase the number you have made. The trouble is you only need one.
I have several for the 19 kaw but none for the larger one. Different size crank. I will post those companies tuesday when I get back to work.Oh ,, you can most likely find a short block motor around on the internet for $600
David

Harold, ahh, the old Kawa bushing problem, what a crock of.... have to buy a whole engine to get a bushing. David is on to this problem and if you put the top in, might as well do the bottom if the engine is apart. David posted awhile back about this and put some good info about bearing material composition,etc. this is a real pain, and a scam and I want to do the same thing cause I have a bunch of these engines and that's all they need too. Keep us posted on progress if you decide to do the bushing replacement, the only problem is the mower is down when you need it, so it doesn't take many days of being out of service to add up what a new engine would cost, and Cow-A-Socky knows this, just a pathetic way to make a buck off us.

I came up with a "posible" fix. i checked the bushings in the lower housing,they seemed to be a sutable fit . so i bought a new lower housing from the dealer $120.removed the two bushings in it,and reassembled the motor and have 5 hours on it now with no oil leak . i think the probable cause of the failure is the governer. the motor runs at its peak power curve ,on max throttle and dose'nt over rev . the dealer said another posible cause is the p.t.o. with a bad ground, arc through the crank to the bearing looking for a ground. the bushing had a teflon like coating.and had a number on it ,my old one did'nt.you may find one at an industrial supply shop. i don't know what the stock bushing looked like. this may or may not work.

Your problem is a Kawasaki design problem. The year of your engine had no oil passage going dirctly to the top bearing. it was the last spot to get oil. If it ever was run low, or did'nt get the new style dipstick that was set up for the extra oil, these blocks will do it all day long. if it gets low, it will happen again eventually. If you bought a new style case and took all your internals and transfered them over, there is a direct passage from the oil pump to the bushing in the new series block. Kawasaki's take on this is if the motor was never run low on oil, customer would'nt have this problem. What color is your dipstick.? If it ever got hot, the dipstick will change from a yellow to a tan/ brown color. Kawasaki used these plastic dipsticks just to determine the engine temp by the color of the dipstick.

Harold, way to go!!! Keep us posted if you would please, gonna be very interested to see if it holds up. Sharpcut where did you come from, welcome to Lawnsite,great info on your post, are you a machinist or ???

For the sake of getting bashed on here, I'm now a dealer for the past 7 years, and worked as a service manager for a few years before that. In my previous life, I was a lawn rat and cut mansions (Eminum's house was one), did low voltage lighting, irrigation work, pond installs, ect. ect. So I've been around the block a few times. My info is from trying to get some warranty coverage from Kawasaki on some of these blocks. Just FYI, they have'nt helped out yet. Blocks within the last 4 years are'nt affected as they changed the design. The issue is with the older design, and the guys that only put 100 or so hours on the machine a year. Now out of warranty, but problems creep up with the top bushing. Now the flywheel is moving around, so timing is erratic, starting to run ruff, ect.

My mechanic went to the manufacturer of the upper bearing/bushing and can get the EXACT same one from them. He gets them now from a local bearing supply place. Has the same name and part numbers of one that comes out of an engine from the Kawasaki factory. He is a mechanic for a big company and has replaced quite a few form the low oil problem with success. I can get the info if someone needs it.

My mechanic went to the manufacturer of the upper bearing/bushing and can get the EXACT same one from them. He gets them now from a local bearing supply place. Has the same name and part numbers of one that comes out of an engine from the Kawasaki factory. He is a mechanic for a big company and has replaced quite a few form the low oil problem with success. I can get the info if someone needs it.

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Hey I am always looking for a better mousetrap . find out what you can about it and post or email the info. There are a lot of people who could benefit from it.
David Thompson